1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for graphical selection of data.
2. Background Art
One way to manipulate data using a computer is through the use of graphical xe2x80x9ctoolsxe2x80x9d displayed on a computer display screen. One such tool is referred to as a xe2x80x9cslider.xe2x80x9d As its name implies, a slider can be slid back and forth or up and down to help a user select certain data. A problem with existing sliders is a requirement to look at an area away from the slider tool itself to see the selected data. This problem can be understood by reviewing the operation of existing sliders.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior art computer user interface that features both a one-dimensional and a two dimensional slider. The user interface of FIG. 1 allows a user to select a color from among available colors. The user interface of FIG. 1 may be used, for example, in a painting or drawing program. A user interface that allows a user to select a color from an available spectrum of colors is sometimes referred to as a xe2x80x9ccolor picker.xe2x80x9d As shown in FIG. 1, color picker 100 includes a color selection window 105 and a brightness selection bar 110. A two-dimensional color selection slider 120 in the form of a pair of cross hairs is displayed in color selection window 105. A one-dimensional brightness selection slider 115 in the form of a small triangle is displayed adjacent to brightness selection bar 110. To use the color picker of FIG. 1, a user selects a color from among those displayed in color selection window 105 by moving color selection slider 120 such that its center is over the desired color, for example using a pointing device such as a mouse. The resulting color selected by the user is shown below color selection window 105 in a separate color preview window 125. To select a color, a user must keep one eye on the position of color selection slider 120 and one eye on color preview window. This need to focus simultaneously on two different areas of a display screen is inconvenient and makes it difficult for a user to easily find a desired color.
After selecting a color in color selection window 105 the user can adjust the brightness of the selected color by moving brightness selection slider 115 up or down along brightness selection bar 110. The resulting color changes are again shown in color preview window 125. To change the brightness, the user must again keep one eye on the position of brightness selection slider 115 and one eye on color preview window 125. Again, the need to focus simultaneously on two disparate areas of the display screen is tedious and inconvenient.
FIG. 2 shows a second example of a user interface featuring a slider of the prior art. User interface 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an interface for a word processing program. Interface 200 features a one dimensional slider 210 that allows a user to scroll through a document displayed in document display window 215. Slider 210 allows a user to navigate through the document by dragging slider 210 vertically up or down along scroll bar 230. As slider 210 is moved, the page number 220 corresponding to the current vertical position of slider 210 relative to the top and bottom of scroll bar 230 is displayed at the bottom left of interface 200. To scroll to a desired page, a user must keep one eye on the position of slider 210 and one eye on the page number 220. Again, the need to focus on two spatially separate locations is tedious and inconvenient.
The present invention comprises a method and apparatus for selecting data using a slider that incorporates a display area for displaying information about the data that is selected.
In an embodiment of the invention, an arbitrarily sized and shaped slider for selecting data from an arbitrarily sized and shaped graphical data field that represents an underlying set of available data are displayed on a display screen. Each position in the data field correlates to particular data from the set of data represented by the data field. As the slider is moved relative to the data field, information identifying the data corresponding to the current position of a reference datum of the slider is displayed in an information display area of the slider.
In one embodiment, the invention comprises a two-dimensional slider displayed on a color palette. As the slider is moved, a display area of the slider displays the color corresponding to a current position of the slider with respect to the underlying color palette. As the slider moves around the palette, the color displayed on the slider changes in real time with the movement of the slider. At any time, the user can ascertain the currently selected color simply by looking at the slider. There is no need for the user to divide the user""s attention between the slider being moved and a separately located display area.
In a second embodiment, the invention comprises a one dimensional slider displayed on a scroll bar of a document display window of a word processing program. As the slider is moved up or down the scroll bar, a page number corresponding to a page of a document displayed in the document display window is displayed in a display area of the slider. A user can easily scroll to a desired page by moving the slider until the desired page number is displayed in the slider""s display area.
In a third embodiment, the invention comprises a one dimensional slider displayed on a line of varying line thickness. As the slider is moved along the line, a line segment whose thickness corresponds to the thickness of the line under the center of the slider is displayed in a display area of the slider.